They came from the Deep

Have a look at this fella. It’s Teuthowenia pellucida or, perhaps more catchy, a Googly-Eyed Glass Squid. It lives in the ocean. When alarmed by a predator, or a photographer, it inflates its body up with water until it has become a semi-transparent sphere. If its extra size doesn’t discourage the predator then the squid fills its water-balloon body with ink. In this way it’s camouflaged in the darkness of its surroundings. What if it’s threatened during daylight hours? That’s not a problem. This squid lives deep down, beyond the reach of the sun.


The Googly-Eyed Glass Squid. You'd probably look weird to it. Copyright; www.deepseaphotography.com

But not as deep as the seafloor. The Googly-Eyed Glass Squid lives in the zone called 'midwater.' It floats between the sea surface and the bottom and keeps away from shores, those are all places fatally dangerous to this delicate creature. It's kind of spooky when you think about it, it lives in a world without walls, without edges and without ground. It just hovers in an endless void. Everywhere is the same. It is always exposed. This is why it has to be able to hide while still in view. There is nothing to hide behind.


Shy, but with a good sense of humour, the Dumbo Octopus.

This Pokémon-looking critter does live on the ocean floor, even when it's as deep 5000 metres. You and I would be squashed flat as pancakes at that depth. It is called Grimpoteuthis or the Dumbo Octopus. According to a book called The Deep, where I have been finding out about these and other creatures, the Dumbo Octopus is something of a mystery. “They are often observed resting on the bottom, with their mantle spread around them,” the writer says. “What are they doing there, sitting so quietly in the dark? Nobody knows.”

Thank you to Claire Nouvian who wrote The Deep and the lovely Ms. S who give me a copy of it for my birthday.

Something is coming ...

The Badness of Ballydog will be published by Simon and Schuster next February. It will be followed by Lost Dogs later in the year. There will also be a third, I am still thinking about the title for that. I already have one I like but the publisher thinks it is too long. We will see.

The cover illustrator is Jonny Duddle. Looking at his portfolio I see that he is fond of pirates so The Badness of Ballydog, which contains no pirates but does have plenty of boats and high waves, probably suited him. He can also draw a leatherback turtle excellently, but you’ll have to wait to see that. It’s on the back.

Ballydog is a bad town on the road to nowhere. It's also home to Andrew, the boss of a school gang; May, an outcast for her strange ways and ability to understand animals; and Ewan, a newcomer, hiding out in Ballydog under the witness protection scheme. Now these three teenagers are under threat as a vast ancient creature marches along the seabed towards their town, intent on destroying it. Can they save Ballydog? Is it worth saving?